This beautiful playground with breathtaking views might be a destination itself or a great stop on the Sonvico nature trail. https://inlugano.com/2020/05/01/the-historical-sonvico-nature-trail-part-ii/
It has all kinds of swings, climbing structures, picnic tables, water fountain and barbecue.
This playground is a destination by itself. Big, unusual with a sand pit , flying fox and water canals. Bathroom and restaurant on the premises. All this in Bedretto. If you want to do some hiking with children there are 2 easy circular hikes passing through the playground.
This beauty is open in winter too.
Let’s situate ourselves. We are in beautiful Val Maggia, easy one hour drive from Lugano, in a village called Cevio. We left our car in the parking lot of a local school just in front of the Valmaggia Museum.
Sentiero dei grotti is a short (45min) hike. It’s not really a hike it’s an easy circular walk suitable for anyone who can climb some stairs. In reality it is an extension of the Valmaggia museum because it shows you how people of this region lived, coexist and took advantage of sometimes impossibly rocky terrain. Over 60 grottoes can be seen, which have been dug between boulders that had come from a huge landslide. “Grotto” meaning a cave or a cellar.
I would definitely recommend this plan for the whole family. We went with friends and the kids had blast discovering new caves on the way. We took torches and suddenly boring walk became an exciting expedition . For adults it is interesting too. You will be amazed how locals embrace the nature and what they have built on seemingly impossible land.
After the walk we ate in Grotto Franci located just 70 m. from the museum.
After the lunch we had to go check an amazing playground with a bike circuit which is not that easy to find situated just next to the parking lot.
We didn’t want to finish our day yet so we went to see small village called Boschetto only about 5 km from Cevio. We walked the circuit around the village we found in a tourist brochure. It’s an super easy 30 minutes walk around nice old village.
I’ve enjoyed it a lot but if you have only have time to see one thing before going home I would rather recommend our last stop of the day: “Cascata Grande” in Bignasco. 5 km from Cevio in opposite direction.
Nice easy long walk around Ticino river entirely doable on a balance bike if your little one complains about walking too much.
You can enter this protected area from few places. We parked close to the parco giochi in Magadino and walk 5 minutes to the entrance.
These beautiful paths lead you through the park. There are some information boards on the way explaining few facts about the fauna and flora of this unique enviroment.
There are “watch towers” on the way too so you can observe natural inhabitants without interfering.
If you are a birdwatcher this is a must. On the other hand if you were a birdwatcher you would have known about Golle di Magadino already.
Anyway if you have a little bit of interest in the nature and would like to see the place where river Ticino flows into Lago Maggiore this is place for you.
INLUGANO 